Michael McNamara
MAJ Brown
ERH 221W
10/15/17
Lack of Connection
24 hours no technology. I know, it sounds absurd, and you may be wondering, why would anyone want to do that? What could you possibly gain by losing everything for a day? Those were my initial thoughts before I plunged into this challenge. Obviously, this challenge was completed for an assignment, but I honestly think I learned more about myself and how desperate and reliant I am on technology than I could have if I just guessed how my day would have gone rather than experience it. First off, I purposely picked a busy day after asking various people what they thought about this assignment and what they would do if they were in my position. All of them suggested picking a busy day because I first off wouldn’t have much time to use my devices and wouldn’t get as bored as easily. This was one of the greatest decisions I’ve ever made because those last two hours sitting and doing nothing were easily the hardest. This decision though did have its tradeoffs. I didn’t get to use my laptop in a variety of my classes, which lead to me having to get notes and assignments from my pears later. All in all, this challenge was productive in many ways it made me learn so much about myself and left me embarrassed of how dependent I am on technology.
Technology runs my life, anyone could have guessed that if they knew me. I would say the majority of the people of my generation would say they feel the same about themselves. When I started this challenge, I noted that at 2345 (10 Minutes after I started) “felt extremely disconnected, extreme urge to use devices to simply check time. I always go on reddit at night and it is odd to break that routine, not being able to check the popular subreddits that I like to use.” I also remember feeling a little bit anxious wondering if there was anyone important or relevant that I had forgot to notify about me participating in this challenge. In the moment, I didn’t think twice about feeling anxious or worried that something might be going on. But looking back at it after being detached from one’s device for simply 10 – 20 minutes I don’t believe that people should feel that way. I think this is proof that there are various forms of social engineering going into the technology we use every day. This may also be an example of how integrated technology is into my life and how dependent I am on it to feel connected. During this very early phase of the challenge I also noticed how little my roommates and I interact with each other without technology. I was shocked at how quiet it was and how little we talked about stuff that wasn’t social media based.
When I woke up the next morning I noted how I was frustrated I couldn’t check my phone and that I felt out of the loop because I wasn’t able to check the news or social media. Throughout classes my urge to use technology wasn’t great mainly because I was busy. But during lunch was when I really felt isolated, I didn’t have anyone to eat with since I wasn’t able to contact any of my friends. Even though VMI is close nit environment, we still rely on technology here to connect with others and as seen in my case without it it’s very difficult to communicate with others. At 1300 later, that day I had PE 300 scheduled. This class is my designated homework class, I use this class solely to get other homework done. During this class though since I had nothing to do and cannot sleep since the professor is very strict on people sleeping in her class. I decided to pay attention and take notes, it was extremely boring, but I can’t say it wasn’t a little interesting and made time pass by quicker. I also remember thinking that I might start not bringing technology to specific classes that I need to pay more attention in.
Finally, after I finished my class periods for the day I had pts which ate up two hours of my time where I wouldn’t be able to use digital media anyway. Later after SRC I ran out of work to do for the day, and this is where this experiment got extremely challenging. I wrote down on various occasions “…extremely bored. I finished the assignments I printed out prior and ran out of stuff to do.” And “I feel like I am on guard”. This period felt exactly how I used to feel when I was a day sentinel on guard. Two minutes had never felt so long, and I think this is one of the main reasons why no amount of money will ever make me conduct this challenge again.
Throughout the 24-hour period I also took random notes about how I felt which weren’t tied to specific events. One of my most repetitive notations in this category this was that as much as I would like to have my phone it would not help me be more productive, it would simply help me pass the time; nevertheless, I would still like to have it. Before starting this 24-hour period, I went into it thinking that I would be frustrated because I would not be able to comaplete my school work but in reality, having my devices wouldn’t help me complete my academics as seen in the example above in my PE class I actually became more productive without them. I think that I was just looking for an excuse to be able to use my digital media.
In conclusion I feel like this challenge made me realize how dependent my peers and I are on technology. This in no way though is motivating me to change my life style, I don’t believe that using technology is a problem in my life and I believe that although it can be a distraction it causes more good than bad. Without it I wouldn’t be able to type this paper or chat with friends outside of this country. Digital media today has shaped who we are and how we conduct ourselves in every way and I don’t think there is any means to change or revert to times without it. One could argue that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing but limiting ones use of technology would in my opinion, be more difficult than simply cutting it out. This 24 hour experience although I didn’t necessarily enjoy it while it was going on, was a great experience.
Timeline-
Notes-
Start time- 2345 10/3/17
End time -2345 10/4/17
(each time stamp was asked from roommates or classmates)
02345- felt extremely disconnected, extreme urge to use devices to simply check time.
-I always go on reddit at night and it is odd to break that routine, not being able to check the popular subreddits that I like to use.
– 0635 – would have liked to be able to check phone in the morning, any news updates or continue convos with friends.
– 0715 – usually sit at desktop during this time and check general social media or last minute syllabus checks prior to class. Ate breakfast instead…
-0750- urge to use devices has settled down not as bad as the night before almost forgot about it as classes get closer.
-1150 unable to text/snapchat friends to get crozet with.
-1200- went to find friends by walking to each room most likely they already went down to crozet
1300- full cps in afternoon no use/need for any tech generally will likely be able to take better notes… hopefully.
1332- wish I had laptop to go on 4chan/reddit in pe 300… very boring class it is almost routine to do this in this calss.
1420- buddy of mine had laptop in my cis 270 class he emailed me some documents we worked on together on his laptop(he typed specific in class assignments for me).
1600- had pts for 2 hours that afternoon, marched no possible way to use technology during that time
1800 pts end went to crozet early then went straight to src
1900- on mix of random notes from that evening.
-afrer src extremely bored. I finished the assignments I printed out prior and ran out of stuff to do.
– digital devices simply pass the time even though they may not be productive.
– nothing to do cant play video games with friends.
– I feel like I am on guard. Wishing time would pass faster (last 15 mins)
Extra notes that came to mind after finishing the 24 hours.
-I didn’t feel that disconnected when I was busy throughout the day. I had to clean my room that morning prior to the formal inspection which made this easier during that time.
-I have never asked what time it was nor felt that repetitive as I did that day.
Tech inventory-
Desktop
Galaxys7 Edge
Garmin running watch
Dell xps15